Labour Housing and the Normalisation of Modernity in 1970s Iran

In the 1970s, rapid modernisation fuelled population displacement and increased the number of workers in the large cities of Iran, in particular Tehran. In response, the Imperial Government initiated several housing programs focusing on the provision of megastructures on a large scale. Consequently, a new opposition formed among some sectors of society, regarding the dissemination of gigantic buildings in the International or Brutalist styles. Critics and clerics argued that the radical government interventions not only polarised the image of Islamic identity in cities, but also affected the behaviour of people towards, and their opinions concerning, the Islamic lifestyle. Additionally, some claimed the state aimed to normalise its project of modernity and rapid westernisation for the mid- and lower classes using housing. In this regard, this article investigates the 1970s imperial government social housing programs to verify these claims.